Krause, LaRiviere lay the smack down in first round of HomeTeam Pick-Em playoffs

The much-anticipated HomeTeam Pick-Em Playoff Spectacular kicked off Friday night, with Mary Krause and Derek LaRiviere posting big victories and tournament creator, organizer, tabulator and all-around great guy John C. Cotey getting bounced out of an event he once said was "more important to me than my own children."

Cotey was, according to some (meaning, uh, me), unfairly ousted by Jarrod Smith 29-28. His 28 points were more than 21 of the 32 players competiting, though he vowed afterwards not to complain about the unfairness of pouring so many hours of his own time into a new feature for the HomeTeam site that grew so fast and got so big he sometimes had to miss spending time with his family in order to keep it all in order.

"Not my style,'' Cotey said.

As for LaRiviere, the HomeTeam's Hernando Hot Shot Hack, he showed that he might be peaking just in time to make a run at the title. He beat Catman, who just qualified for the playoffs by winning the last week's contest, by a 31-30 score. The 31 points were a playoff high, and Catman got totally g'd by losing with the second highest score. The Catman killer? He picked against Carrollwood Day and against Robert Davis rushing for enough yards to become Hillsborough County's rushing champ. This is ironic, because he was the ONLY PERSON to pick against Davis setting the record.

Ouch.

And I don't know if Mrs. Krause is the only lady left in the playoffs, now that Neutral Observer took out flafishergal in a brutal Pinellas County bloodbath that will be felt by generations of both families for centuries to come, but if so: You Go Girl!!!

Krause didn't break a sweat and won 29-24.

Here's a few other observations:

* The Match of The Week had to be @RonCanMultiTask over Csmack.

The two guys tied at 25, and neither person picked the right tiebreaker No. 1 (Who will score the most points in Tampa Bay: Newsome).

They tied the second tiebreaker, "Who Would Throw The Most TD Passes", because Aaron Banks (Ron) and Pete DiNovo (Csmack) each threw two.

The third tiebreaker was a tough one (Who will kick the most field goals), but CSmack passed and filled in "I don't know." WHAT? REALLY? Just throw down a kicker or a school or something. The MultiTasker picked "Plant's PUGH", but I knew he meant Few, so good thing he put Plant in there. Well done, Ron.

* Another backbreaker: Pirates94 picked Anclote to beat Gainesville Eastside and the Sharks to outrush the Rams as well. His bad start to the week proved to be his undoing, as he lost 27-26.

* Jarrod Smith beat Cotey because he was smart enough to pick Newsome (Curses, Will Worth, curses!!!!!), and Cotey was dumb enough to think George Campbell would have a bigger receiving night that Artavis Scott.

* The three guys who got in because of the quitters and forgetters? Well, they went 0-3. Good try, BryanSLU, Derrick B and CBurgos.

Krause, LaRiviere lay the smack down in first round of HomeTeam Pick-Em playoffs

The much-anticipated HomeTeam Pick-Em Playoff Spectacular kicked off Friday night, with Mary Krause and Derek LaRiviere posting big victories and tournament creator, organizer, tabulator and all-around great guy John C. Cotey getting bounced out of an event he once said was "more important to me than my own children."

Cotey was, according to some (meaning, uh, me), unfairly ousted by Jarrod Smith 29-28. His 28 points were more than 21 of the 32 players competiting, though he vowed afterwards not to complain about the unfairness of pouring so many hours of his own time into a new feature for the HomeTeam site that grew so fast and got so big he sometimes had to miss spending time with his family in order to keep it all in order.

"Not my style,'' Cotey said.

As for LaRiviere, the HomeTeam's Hernando Hot Shot Hack, he showed that he might be peaking just in time to make a run at the title. He beat Catman, who just qualified for the playoffs by winning the last week's contest, by a 31-30 score. The 31 points were a playoff high, and Catman got totally g'd by losing with the second highest score. The Catman killer? He picked against Carrollwood Day and against Robert Davis rushing for enough yards to become Hillsborough County's rushing champ. This is ironic, because he was the ONLY PERSON to pick against Davis setting the record.

Ouch.

And I don't know if Mrs. Krause is the only lady left in the playoffs, now that Neutral Observer took out flafishergal in a brutal Pinellas County bloodbath that will be felt by generations of both families for centuries to come, but if so: You Go Girl!!!

Krause didn't break a sweat and won 29-24.

Here's a few other observations:

* The Match of The Week had to be @RonCanMultiTask over Csmack.

The two guys tied at 25, and neither person picked the right tiebreaker No. 1 (Who will score the most points in Tampa Bay: Newsome).

They tied the second tiebreaker, "Who Would Throw The Most TD Passes", because Aaron Banks (Ron) and Pete DiNovo (Csmack) each threw two.

The third tiebreaker was a tough one (Who will kick the most field goals), but CSmack passed and filled in "I don't know." WHAT? REALLY? Just throw down a kicker or a school or something. The MultiTasker picked "Plant's PUGH", but I knew he meant Few, so good thing he put Plant in there. Well done, Ron.

* Another backbreaker: Pirates94 picked Anclote to beat Gainesville Eastside and the Sharks to outrush the Rams as well. His bad start to the week proved to be his undoing, as he lost 27-26.

* Jarrod Smith beat Cotey because he was smart enough to pick Newsome (Curses, Will Worth, curses!!!!!), and Cotey was dumb enough to think George Campbell would have a bigger receiving night that Artavis Scott.

* The three guys who got in because of the quitters and forgetters? Well, they went 0-3. Good try, BryanSLU, Derrick B and CBurgos.